A new Stanford-led study finds that controlled, low-intensity fires known as prescribed burns can slash wildfire intensity and dangerous smoke pollution across the western United States.
A new Stanford-led study finds that controlled, low-intensity fires known as prescribed burns can slash wildfire intensity and dangerous smoke pollution across the western United States.
As wildfires increasingly threaten lives, landscapes, and air quality across the U.S., a Stanford-led study published in AGU Advances June 26 finds that prescribed burns can help reduce risks. The research reveals that prescribed burns can reduce the severity of subsequent wildfires by an average of 16% and net smoke pollution by an average of 14%.
“Prescribed fire is often promoted as a promising tool in theory to dampen wildfire impacts, but we show clear empirical evidence that prescribed burning works in practice,” said lead author Makoto Kelp, a postdoctoral fellow in Earth system science at the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability. “It’s not a cure-all, but it’s a strategy that can reduce harm from extreme wildfires when used effectively.”
Experts consider prescribed burns an effective strategy to reduce the threat of wildfires, and nearly $2 billion of federal funding had been set aside to conduct these and similar treatments to reduce hazardous fuel. Still, the use of prescribed burning in western states has expanded only slightly in recent years. Little research exists to quantify its effectiveness, and public opinion remains mixed amid concerns that prescribed burns can lead to smoky air and escaped fires.
Read more at Stanford University
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